Prototypes
by Will Write For Pencils
Summary: The original stitchpunks discover Gamma, who claims to be one of several "prototypes" created by the scientist before using his own soul to create the nine. Rated just in case.
1. Chapter 1

_Only my Greek-named stitchpunks are mine. The rest is Shane Acker's._

Prototypes

Chapter One: Meet and Greet

* * *

Gamma knew the body the instant she saw it slumped on the riverbank. It looked as if something had been attached to its lower half, as cloth had been stitched around its legs and roughly hewn off at the end.

The talisman in her hand began to pulse faintly, like a dying heartbeat, almost reaching for the water that lapped at the body. Curious, Gamma knelt down and plunged her hand and the talisman into the river. Immediately, a green light began to grow around the symbols engraved on its surface. She glanced at the limp stitchpunk at her side and back to her hand; she knew what she was doing.

The talisman came out of the water and Gamma gently undid the shoelace that held together the front of the body. There were three loose wires that fit perfectly into the back of the talisman. As soon as the last touched its socket, the glow spread down the wires into the dead mechanisms. The talisman suddenly shook and fell from her hand, losing connection with the wires as it did.

The body blinked.

Gamma hissed in surprise and scrambled backwards.

"Wait!" called the other, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "I'm a friend!" Gamma hesitated.

"You're 2," she whispered. He looked over his shoulder at the writing on his back.

"Yes, yes I am. Still. And you…?"

"Gamma." She turned so he could see the symbol on her back. 2's eyes widened in surprise.

"A letter!" he breathed, struggling to his feet. It was then that he noticed the skirt-like remnants of the cloth. Annoyed, he ripped the seams out and stepped towards Gamma, but she retreated. 2 stopped and studied her face closely.

"I was dead, wasn't I?"

She nodded numbly.

"Then why--?" he halted midsentence as his eyes fell on the talisman by the water. With a mixture of reverence, fascination, and fear, he picked up the object. The light was all gone now. He looked up at Gamma.

"Were there others like me?"

Nod.

"How many?"

"Four."

"Only four? Where?"

Gamma pointed towards the library, where the numbered ones stayed. They hadn't seen her yet, but she had seen them. She kept well away from their territory, ever since she had run into one of them.

"Alright then," 2 said, "Come on. We need to find them." He grabbed Gamma's wrist, but she resisted.

"What?"  
"No. I won't go there."

"Why not?"

"7."

It was 7's turn to keep watch, though there was little to watch out for, with the machines gone. More accurately, it was alone time. Months had passed since the little ceremony with the talisman, but it still hurt, which was why they had thrown it away.

She sat on a rock, staring down the broken road. Many days, she would sit there, hoping that they would all come down that road and they could be a family again, yet she knew it was only wishful thinking.

"7?"

She knew that voice, but it couldn't be. She wouldn't dare to hope—

"2?" she called hesitantly. A figure stepped into the light and ran to throw his arms around her.

"But—but—" stammered 7, looking down at one she had though dead. A movement in the shadows caught her eye. 7 snatched up her spear, pushing 2 behind her defensively.

"7, don't," 2 warned, but she was already gone. She leapt and landed. There was a huff of pain.

"7!" cried 2, rushing over. She had pinned another, frightened stitchpunk to the ground, spear to her throat.

"Another one," 7 hissed. "These scavengers. I've caught two like this one before, looting 9's stores."

"7," 2 said, "let her up. She's the one who brought me back." 7 glared over her shoulder.

"This? They steal our supplies and slink around with weapons, and you just want me to let her go?" The newcomer took advantage of the distraction and slithered out from her grip, scrambling to her feet.

"Told you, 2," she said shortly. Before 7 could get her act together, the stranger had run off down the street. 2 shot a look at 7 that she couldn't read, and took off after her, leaving 7 blinking in bewilderment, wondering what she had done wrong.

"Gamma! Gamma, wait!"

2 caught up with her and grabbed her arm.

"What?" she growled, pulling away from his grasp. "You told me she'd be different _and I believed you_. She killed two of us—you heard her, and I remember Theta and Xi disappearing all that time ago, don't think I don't."

"What do you mean? Others?" 2 looked at her in concern.

Gamma glanced over her shoulder to make sure 7 wasn't following, and slumped down next to a broken pot.

"We were your prototypes."

Author's note: Thanks for reading this far! It's my first story out, but please review! I want to know what I'm doing wrong. It never made sense to me why the scientist would test out his new contraption on himself, and I had Gamma pouting in a corner for her own story, so I decided why not? You'll learn a little more about Gamma next chapter, but I need reviews!


	2. Chapter 2

Prototypes

Chapter 2: Beginnings

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Gamma's eyes flickered to life.

"Alright, oh, good, Gamma. You're coming around fine," a voice murmured nearby. Hands grasped hers and pulled her upright. There was little light, but with it, Gamma could make out the silhouette of another stitchpunk.

"I'm Beta," he said quietly. "And that's Alpha5." He pointed to a figure who sat a little ways away, holding a small candle between his hands.

"Who are those?" Gamma asked, pointing at two motionless heaps on the floor.

"Delta and Epsilon. They're new, also, and just haven't woken up yet." She approached them cautiously, and realized they were slumped against metal bars that went on in either direction into the darkness.  
"What are these for?" She ran her hand up one of the metal bars. There was no space to squeeze between them.

"The scientist made a cage to keep us from running off," Beta replied.

"He's experimenting on us," Alpha5 hissed suddenly.

"What!?"

"Shh!" Alpha5 clapped a hand over her mouth. "We aren't supposed to be awake!"

"Let her go," Beta urged, patting Alpha5's back gently. "She didn't mean any harm. They're the only reason we're breaking the rules, anyways." Reluctantly, Gamma was released from his grip.

"You know why I'm Alpha5, and not just Alpha?" he snarled, putting his face close to Gamma's. "The first four failed. Alpha1 and Alpha2, the soul didn't transfer properly, so they never awoke. 3 and 4 were destroyed _because they broke the rules_. The first thing I saw when I awoke was their remains."

"What will he do to us?"

"Run tests. Make us run until our joints crack. Shock us until we collapse. Pit us against his other machines. Who knows what he might come up with next? He told Beta and I that he's preparing to make the _real_ ones, whatever that—,"

His narrative was interrupted by a soft moan. Beta rushed to the side of the limp stitchpunks. "Hush, you're okay," he murmured, placing his hand on Delta's back. Delta pushed himself up and rubbed his head.

"Where am I?" he groaned.

"Safe." Beta looked up at the other two, pleading that they not tell him.

Not yet.

2 stared at her in disbelief.

"But I _met_ the Scientist! He wouldn't have done that with you!"

Gamma laughed dryly. "He wouldn't do that with his own soul. With others', he seemed to have no qualms."

"Others?" Gamma looked up at 2.

"How else would I be here? Alpha1 through Epsilon all used his son. The rest were all strangers he pulled from the street."

A voice shouted from a distance.

Gamma cursed, scrambling to her feet.

"Gamma!" The voice was not 2's. It was 7's. 2 caught Gamma's wrist as she tried to run. "Wait."

"Gamma, please!" 7 ran up to them. "I'm sorry, I just…you brought 2 back, maybe you could bring back the others…"

The prototype looked over her shoulder.

"You killed Theta and Xi. Why should I trust you?"

7 hung her head. "I don't know." The three stood there for a moment, none moving.

Gamma jerked her hand away from 2 and flicked 7's helmet off. "Drop the spear," she ordered. 7 opened her mouth angrily to object, glanced at 2, and shut it. The weapon clattered to the ground. Without either defense, she looked scrawny and vulnerable.

"Where are they?" Gamma asked.

7's head shot up. "You'll do it?"

She nodded. 7 grinned. "I don't—I mean—9 will-9! I need to get him and the twins! Wait for me!"

2 smiled as she ran back towards the library. Gamma looked down at the talisman held tight in her fingers.

_What have I gotten myself into this time?_

**Author's note: **Sorry it's so short! I needed a place to stop, so I decided on here. The next chapter will be longer, promise! Please review!


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